Sinosauropteryx

Protoavis texensis

Pronounced: Pro - toe - A - viss

Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means: "First Bird"

Length: 4 feet (1.3 m)

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Time: Early Cretaceous - 130 MYA

Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in China

Sinosauropteryx has been called one of the most exciting scientific discoveries in decades. This Chinese fossil clearly shows defined feathers around much of this little dinosaur! It was a small, swift hunter that could not fly, but it seems to demonstrate that dinosaurs were beginning to look and act more like birds. It may be related to the little dinosaur, Compsognathus

Sinosauropteryx continues to be a very important fossil for a number of reasons. First, and perhaps most importantly, it is a critical piece of evidence supporting the argument that birds descended from dinosaurs. Additionally, depending on its exact classification, it shows that at least some non-avian coelurosaurs were feathered.

The exact use of the feathers will be debated for some time. They are clearly not flight feathers, but they may have been used for insulation, courtship display, individual identification, or a combination of all of these.